Evaluation and correlation of hormone levels in normal and pathologic pregnancies

Estriol determination for monitoring high-risk pregnancies, either in serum or urine samples, has been in use for many years. The disadvantages are the inaccuracy of a 24-hour urine sample and the delay of two days. The advantages are a possible high variation of serum hormone evaluations from a very short sampling period. In order to prove the reliability of serum hormone patterns in pathological pregnancies, we compared them to 24-hours urinary E3 patterns. Free E3 and HCS levels were determined in serum samples by Radioimmunoassays. Total 24-hour urinary E3 was determined by a procedure according to Frandsen. For the graphic presentation, hormone levels from each pregnancy were grouped weekly and the mean values +/- SD in the different weeks of gestation were computed. To estimate the tendency of hormone patterns we performed a Z-transformation of grouped single hormone evaluations. A comparison between the serum and urine E3 measurements showed similar hormone patterns. E3 hormone patterns measured either in urine or serum proved to be well comparable. The mean of the transformed values showed the tendency of the hormone patterns even more distinctly than the graphic presentation. The hormone parameters E3 and HCS for monitoring high-risk pregnancies should be rated according to the diseases. In cases of placental insufficiency, E3 seemed to be the more sensitive parameter, whereas in severe cases of EPH-gestosis HCS might be more reliable.